The Battle for Korona
by VeeVee the Roleplayer
Summary: Veara was assigned to keep on eye on the harvesting of the Regimight crystals, everything was going smoothly until a certain orange captain decided to try and sneak in the mines...
1. Chapter 1

Veara was standing in the control room of a flag ship. Today's mission was a simple one, to control a large amount of regimight, an orange crystal that holds a high amount of an unique energy. This kind of energy was near impossible to recreate in any controlled environment and was highly desired throughout the Galaxy. It had the ability to strongly enhance any weaponry that used exotic energy. Not only that, but the energy that regimight produces is one of a few energies that is capable to powering one of the Grox's most devastating weapons: The Cleansing Ray.

As much as it doesn't sound threatening, it was a force to be reckoned with... and it was greatly feared throughout Aeron. The purpose of this mechanical item was to take planets that were brimming with life and shred them apart into a barren T0 husk... the perfect environment for the all-mighty Grox.

Korona, the planet with a ridiculous amount of Reigmight embedded in it's crust, was the destination of Veara and her crew. It was a red and orange planet, having already been cleansed of it's T1 rating almost immediately after its discovery. It was jealously guarded by the Grox, being their main source of these insane power crystals.

Veara gently scratched her neck with her threatening metal claws. This was a boring mission to her. She was the commander of an entire armada! She should be guarding the core and destroying pitiful captains that dare try to get anywhere close, not doing some pansy collecting mission. Alas, the Emperor made it very clear that she needed to go, fully aware that the Artlen wasn't all that pleased to be assigned to supervise the ongoing Regimight mines. He did have to remind her that this was an important mission and, without the Regimight, the Grox wouldn't be at their peak of power. With a huff and a one quiet, displeased murr, Veara begrudgingly agreed to the mission. Not that she had much of a choice to be honest, the Emperor would have sent her on the mission even if she refused, not that she would anyways. She had been serving the Grox long enough to hear the horror stories about what the Emperor did to others that failed, disappointed, or even hinted at refusing him. Besides, she didn't like the idea of disappointing him.

Veara moved across the control room and peered over the heads of the Grox pilots, making sure they were on the right course and that there was nothing wrong. One of the things that Veara prided in herself in was her excellent piloting capability, able to quickly spot anything that was not right and fix the problem within seconds. Veara had the lowest spacecraft casualty rate our of any of the empire's other high commanders. Of course, she would be piloting the ship herself but her officers insisted that others would control the ship whilst she keep her keep her eyes on the others. Her very presence only made the Grox on the ship do their best, not wanting to face her wrath and the reports she was willing to give to the Emperor.

Seeing that everything was in toe, Veara glided out of the control room to check on everything else. She had plenty of time to make sure everything was set for the containment of the slightly unstable energy crystals. If they were not handled with care, the crystal would literally explode and the heat energy would be enough to seriously harm or even kill someone. They would also have to be spared from the flying super heated crystallized shards.

Veara peered into the labs and was pleased to see the preparation of the crystals was going smoothly. It took a lot of work to keep the crystals under control, and the Emperor wanted to add more planets to the Grox empire as soon as possible what with their booming population and the need for more room. In a way, this pleased Veara. The mighty race she served was prospering.

Striding down the hallway Veara returned to the control room and sat down in her chair. This was going to be long and uneventful trip to Korona. She felt the desire to go to the training chamber to unleash whatever tension was inside of her... but a part of her didn't think this was a good idea. She needed her soldiers in fighting states and not beaten and bruised. Veara's lips curled into a small private smile, she had always been the best fighter in the armada... a source of pride that she reveled in. Her skills continued to be sharpened with each passing galactic year. Veara had a feeling that the Emperor also took in pride in her skills, a fact that made her never want to prove him wrong.

Veara was lost in her thoughts, sitting quietly in her chair watching the stars fly by in the window in front of her. A pilot alerted her that the ship was approaching Korona. Smiling and sitting up straighter, Veara nodded her approval and watched the planet that used to be a pin prick in the vast distance grow larger and larger.

Beyond all of this, however, Veara had a gut feeling that this would not be a normal collecting mission. Something wasn't quite right...


	2. Chapter 2

Veara stood at the cockpit's entrance as the Grox flag ship slowly descended towards the surface of Korona. A small army of Grox miners and Dronox miners were behind her, all ready to unload and begin the regimight extraction process.. With a thud and a small quake of the ship, the spacecraft landed and and the cockpit began to open.. No wind greeted the group - nothing but a calming silence. Thanks to the Grox modifications done to be the inner workings of her body, Veara was able to survive on T0 planets like the creatures she served.

Veara lead her mining crew out and onto the crystal laced surface of the planet, her hands behind her back and her face stern. The old Artlen scanned the area and was pleased to see that all of their equipment was untouched and in their proper places. She then turned to face her crew and nodded for them to start working. The miners moved forward and obeyed the silent command.

Veara silently paced all over the working area, keen eyes scanning her miners. Since the crystals must be handled with the utmost care, Veara had to make sure everything was in check or else she have to face the blunt end of the Emperor's wrath. Veara wandered into the mine shafts to supervise the ongoing harvesting. The mines were hot and Veara could feel the exceptional thermal pressure beating against her skin. It didn't bother her, however. If this place had any air, however, it would have been terribly stuffy.

"Veara, sir!" said a Grox scientist, trotting over to the Artlen. Veara paused and looked down at the Grox with her usual glare.

"Yes..?" she asked, curious about what the scientist had to say that was so important.

"During our expeditions, we discovered a dormant volcanic ridge. We are not sure if it's active yet, but it is fairly close to the mines. We do not want to risk awakening it."

Veara nodded to this. It would indeed prove more troublesome if the main mine shafts were flooded with lava.

"All right then, continue to mine in that section as long as it is necessary, then we can chart out a new area to mine. Until then, keep me alerted on the volcano."

"Yes sir."

Veara watched the Grox returned to his duties. She worked her way back to the mines entrancing, exciting and standing tall as she looked around the area. She watched her men work hard as the harvested, stabilized, contained, and transported the Regimight to the labs on the flag ship. However, something was off... Veara could feel that she was being watched by something that she didn't command. This feeling easily made Veara rather stiff in her back and caused the spines located their to extend slightly in a defensive reflex.

"Hm?"

Veara's ears snapped up as she thought she saw a flash of orange out the corner of her robotic eye. She tilted her head to one side as she eyed the pile of discarded rocks that came from the mines. Was her eye bugged? This bionic eye has never failed her in the long years she had it. Veara decided to play is safe and began to look around for any Dronox that might be nearby. She spotted a dozen of them and whistled at them. Once she had their attention, she gestured for them to follow her. They scrambled to immediately obey her as she moved towards the pile of discarded rocks. Veara silently commanded the Dronox into position. If all went right, Veara and her Dronox would greatly surprise whatever they were about to find hiding behind this pile.

With a snarl, Veara leaped over the rocks, twisted in mid air to face whatever was behind them. To her slight surprise, the old Artlen found two aliens hiding, both looked stunned - one even fearful. She smirked as she stood to her full height and placed her hands on her hips as the Dronox surrounded them, their powerful pulse rifles pointing at the intruders. Veara searched through her memory banks, trying to figure out what kind they were.

Her eyes opened wide as the identity of the aliens before her clicked. These were New Tharians. A race that was indisputably the second most powerful race in the galaxy in terms of shear power and occupational size - second only to the mighty Grox, of course. These two thairans in particular looked young. They could easily be new captain recruits.

"Well looky what we got here boys~" said Veara in a sickly sweet voice and smiled. "Two nosy kittens that snuck their way here!"

Suddenly Veara's face darkened before either of the two New Tharians could speak up.

"One word!" she snarled and pointed a metal claw at them, "And it's lights out! I do not want any trouble. As much as I would like to see how your throats slit... I am curious to see how you learned of the existence of this planet. Korona is sovereign property of the Grox Empire."

Veara then waved at the Dronox, and immediately afterwards the Grox machinations pounced.. Veara watched with amusement at the resulting short fist fight before the Dronox quickly overwhelmed the two young captains, tied them up, and gagged them, leaving them silent and helpless.

"Now... lets take them into the deeper parts of the mines." she said, placing her hands behind her back. "There is no point in taking them to the ship since they will be dead by the end of the day.."

Veara lead the group back into the mines, looking determinately forwards as she did so. She could hear the captives whisper. They Dronox were also puzzled and slightly worried about two intruders. However, Veara had the whole thing under control.

At least she thought she did...


	3. Chapter 3

Veara gently sipped some water from a glass as she stared over at her two captive New Tharians. She was deep in thought. It's been almost two hours since these two young captains have been captured. With the only entrance blocked off by Dronox warriors, Veara was free to spend all the time that she wanted to with her little guests. Both of the New Tharians were hot and thirsty, the pressure from the caves making it difficult for them to breath with the ropes that bound their arms not helping the matter. The two New Tharians stared at Veara, eyeing the water she teasingly drank a few times. Sweat started to form as the New Tharians' bodies tried their best to stay cool, whilst Veara's 'upgraded' cybernetic body was comfortable in this environment.

Even though Veara appeared calm, her mind was in overdrive. So many questions ran through her head, the biggest of which was how these two New Tharians were not only able to locate this hidden planet on the outskirts of Groxian territory but also managed to land without being killed. It greatly disturbed her. She would have to tell the empire that the New Tharians clearly had some intel on the functionality of regimight.

Well, one way to get her questions answered was to ask one of the very New Tharians trapped before her.

After drinking the last of the water, Veara gave the glass to a Dronox before she stalked towards the two tied up New Tharians. One glared at her and the other tensely watched her. Circling them a few times - sizing them up - and deciding which one to interrogate first. Veara smiled slightly as she paused in front of the youngest of the two, the one that looked the most afraid and most likely the easiest to break.

Veara reached out and grabbed the youngest new Tharians and dragged him away from the slightly older one, who helplessly watched his shipmate knowing that there was nothing he could do.

"Now... I am going to ask you a few questions kit," Veara said as she forced the New Tharian onro his knees. With a shift slash of her metal claws, Veara cut the gag and watched the New Tharian slip out the cut rags and stretch his jaw.

"First things first... What is your name kitten?" Veara watched with a silent amusement as the New Tharian tried to regain his voice. He was afraid, just the way Veara wanted.

"T... Tetrio..." stuttered the New Tharain, looking up at her with bloodshot hazel eyes.

Veara gave a slight nod before she started to walk around Tetrio at a slow and powerful pace, hands behind her back and clasped together.

"Now onto business," said Veara in a slight deadpan tone, "Tetrio... How did you and your... friend here get passed my armada's defenses? It's quite a stunning feat you've accomplished."

Even though Veara wasn't staring directly at the tharian at that moment, her keen peripheral vision told her that Tetrio had glanced at his shipmate briefly before he opened his mouth to croak out a reply.

"I-I don't know..."

Veara's ears dropped and slid back a little, a sign that she is getting annoyed. She didn't like the "I Don't Know" games. She didn't like a lot of things but playing games that she wasn't interested in nor have the time for was one of the more hated things she had on her long list.

She paused in front of Tetrio, blocking his view of his shipmate. She gently placed a metal claw under his chin so that she could push his head up and make him look at her mismatched eyes.

"That's not an answer kitten..." she whispered in a deadly voice. "You know how you got here... you know why you and your filthy friend is here... I can see your honesty in your eyes. Don't play games with me."

Veara curled her other claws around the New Tharian's soft face, apply enough pressure to cause just enough pain to drive her point home. He whimpered as the claws cut into his skin and caused him to bleed slightly.

"However, I am curious. I know you are here for the Regimight... I want to know how you got here..."

A thought formed in Veara's messed up mind... perhaps she could gain more useful information from these New Tharians. The Emperor would less likely to punish her if she was able to extract something of value that they can use in the war against their most formidable opponent.

"...and maybe.. you can tell me something else that'll keep you alive..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It has been at least 3 hours since the interrogation started and with that little patience Veara had when she started was wearing thin.

Tetrio kept repeating "I don't know!" or "I know nothing!" with each and every question she fired at him.

Veara growled and glared down at the beaten and broken body of the New Tharian. He was still alive, however he was sporting major injuries. Broken bones, dislocated joints, torn muscles, bruises, cuts, and anything in-between. The other New Tharian, who turned out to be named Roku - as Tetrio had informed her - was squirming in his bounds, his cries for mercy for his friend were muffled and ignored.

As of right now, Tetrio was laying on the ground, barely breathing. He had stopped screaming and begging for mercy a while back. His swollen eyes were staring blankly at the wall. Veara crouched down and forced the New Tharian to sit up. Eyes connecting, Veara started a cold stare. A stare that showed no mercy.

"One last chance birdy..." she muttered under her breath, sliding a metal claw up his chest and to his chin, leaving a long laceration and caused the exhausted New Tharian to shiver and gasp in pain. "If you don't tell me what I want, your life ends here..."

The seconds of silence turned into minutes as Veara waited for a reply. When she got none, she growled... then she snapped.

With a snarl, she slashed open the New Tharian's throat. Veara stood, now covered in Tetrio's blood. Veara watched the twitching body of Tetrio for quite a while before turning to look at Roku. His eyes were as wide as they were allowed to be, his mouth would have been hanging open if it was not bound. He stared at the body of his shipmate, tears forming in his eyes.

Then he looked at the corrupted Artlen...

The hate that blazed in his eyes was almost as powerful as the that which was alit inside Veara. The Artlen smirked, amused. A creature of this passionate and unbridled hatred was not something she had seen in a long time. This should be interesting.

"You're next pretty birdy..." she muttered softly. She then walked off to calm herself and clean up.

What Veara could not have know, however, that her actions would cause major consequences that would echo throughout time and space for eons to come.


End file.
